I support indie authors, but my physical TBR list is too long!
I support indie authors, but I’m on a book ban.
I support indie authors, but I can’t buy too many books.
We know. And, as much as indie authors want to become a bestseller overnight, we also appreciate that with thousands of books to choose from, even the most enthusiastic readers will need to be selective. Besides, reading books may sound like a smart hobby, but it also comes at a cost. Not every book is available at your local library or on KU.
So how can you support indie authors without necessarily having to remortgage your home every time you go through a reading spree?
Support Indie Authors by Sharing Their Posts
A quick search on Threads or TikTok should instantly help you find indie authors. Honestly, we are hundreds and hundreds shouting into the social media void every single day. It’s hard to miss us once you know in which communities we wander (as aimlessly as most social media wanderers and with varying levels of optimism)
So where can you find indie authors to follow online:
- TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook have similar hashtags: #indieauthor, #indiewriter
- Threads has communities: Author Threads, Writer Threads and Book Threads
- TikTok has the reading community: #Booktok
- Instagram has the #Bookstagram community
For a lot of indie authors, views are important. Our posts are typically shown only to the same handful of close friends who support us. So, resharing to your network could help reach out to new people and hopefully find our audience. Beware, however, not to fall into the dark side of the online book reading community.
Support Indie Authors By Engaging with Them Online
As explained, we tend to shout into the void. Social media algorithms tend to value high-engagement posts. As we can usually count the interactions we receive on the fingers of one hand, it’s fair to say that we don’t get a lot of exposure.
Here is how you can support indie authors further:
- Like the post
- Drop a comment, and if you can’t be bothered, an emoji is an acceptable comment for the algorithm and for us
- Reply to an existing comment
- Save the post, which is an option available on Instagram and TikTok
All these signal to the algorithms that our posts are engaging, and therefore they get pushed in front of more people.
Support Indie Authors By Following Them
As boring as it sounds, for the little guys, the number of followers can make a big difference, especially if these followers are engaging.
You can follow indie authors on social media, either TikTok, Instagram, and Threads. Some authors are also still on X. Many indie authors have a Facebook page, too.
What difference does it really make?
As it happens, we are constantly trying to get our books promoted and displayed in new places. So, when we reach out to regional news, micro influencers, bookshops, or even agents and publishers, our social media presence is the first thing they are going to check. So, helping us grow the number of followers could actually help us promote the book further and better.
If you are concerned about receiving too many notifications from us, it’s something you can easily manage. Facebook and Instagram let you mute notifications from the accounts you follow if you don’t want to be disturbed. TikTok conveniently separates the people you follow from your feeds, and you can also ask to see less.
Sign up for The Newsletter to Support Indie Authors
Some indie authors have a newsletter that is sent more or less regularly. We send ours monthly for now, but this may change in the future.
When you sign up for the newsletter, there’s a sense of building a community, which is so important when you start promoting your books. But it’s not all. It’s a great platform to get all the news sent to you, so you don’t have to follow everything that is being said on social media.
Additionally, a lot of indie authors are also keen to create unique events and gifts for their community. This could be a unique edition of the book, as many of us are working on creating limited edition covers or edging for a few prints. As silly as it sounds, we are really excited about sharing our books and giving you something in exchange for supporting us. So, when you join the newsletter, you tend to get priority over new merch.
Why do we send merch? Because we’re proud of our book, and we want to thank you for being there with us. Also, because cool merch is shareable; you can snap photos of your gift and share it online, so more people know about us.
Finally, you can simply share the newsletter with friends, or just encourage them to subscribe too. It’s free, and it means a lot for indie authors who have zero agented representation to see that other people believe in their work.
Write a Book Review to Support Indie Authors
If you read the book and didn’t hate it, why not consider writing a book review on the platform you bought it from, whether Amazon, Waterstones, or even Barnes and Noble?
A 5-star or 4-star review can make an indie author’s day, and it can also convince others to buy the book. It’s also something other bookshops look at to decide whether to stock a book or not.
Is it fair to write a review if you didn’t like the book? This is a tough question. I have had to write reviews on books that didn’t click with me. When that happens, I tend to give a relatively high-ish score (4 stars usually) while explaining in the review who the ideal reader is. That means, to me, mentioning the kind of tropes and other authors/books the ideal reader would enjoy, and also why the book is right for them.
Now, I’m not asking everyone to show the same level of dedication. But, ultimately, you write a review to help future readers decide whether to buy or pass. So, when you write something like “I didn’t finish, it wasn’t for me” or “ I didn’t like it”, your review serves zero purpose because it provides no insight to anyone.
Even when I write a review about a book I enjoyed, I also try to highlight who the target audience would be. Should you write reviews like me? I mean, would it really be my ideal world if everyone was like me? Probably not. I’m just sharing what I do to support other authors.
Convince Something Else to Buy Their Book
This may not be the right time for you to buy a book, but maybe someone is looking for their next gift idea? After all, Christmas is just around the corner, and books make fantastic gifts!
So, why not suggest a book gift to support indie authors?
Or, simply recommend the book to someone who would like it.
There you go, hopefully this can give you a few indications on how to support indie authors when you don’t want to buy more books.